A versatile wavelength-dependent spectrophotometer for efficiency measurements of CCD and cryogenic gratings

A user-friendly and automatic illuminator with adjustable wavelength and optical power has been developed to obtain precision quantum efficiency (QE) curves of astronomical CCD as well as optical transmission measurements for cryogenic holographic gratings and other optical components. Integrating commercial components with custom mechanical parts and control software, this equipment is able to illuminate a target with light of controlled intensity and wavelength. This facility is primarily intended for testing of Volume Phase Holographic (VPH) gratings at low temperature as well as obtaining CCD quantum efficiencies. A Labview control application runs on a desktop computer allowing full automation of the spectrophotometer. The apparatus includes a Quartz-Tungsten light source, neutral density filters, a monochromator, visible and near-infrared power meters, as well as collimating and focusing optics. Rotation mechanisms allow the characterization of gratings for all angles of diffractions. For CCD testing, network commands allow the facility to get raw images, compute and record QE curves for further detector characterization